Wigan Athletic

2.36

• 
  18

  29

  2.50

  Ali Al Habsi

  The goalkeeper was given no chance with either of the game’s opening goals. He was easily beaten by Ivanovic in the second minute and could do nothing to stop Lampard’s penalty four minutes later.

• 
  8

  35

  2.00

  Antolín Alcaraz

  The pace and movement of the Chelsea forward line made life very difficult for the Wigan defence and that gave Alcaraz plenty of things to do. He was lucky to survive a penalty shout for a shoulder charge on Torres, but otherwise he didn’t let his side down but having to support his fellow defenders meant at times he was caught out of position

• 
  6

  32

  2.50

  Gary Caldwell

  He found himself having to cover for Ramis and clean up the mistakes made by the Spaniard which meant he was everywhere trying to stop the Chelsea attacks. He stayed close to Torres at all times and kept him quiet for large parts of the game, however the breaks from midfield meant Torres wasn’t the only threat.

• 
  12

  27

  2.50

  Emmerson Boyce

  Playing as a wing-back, the experienced defender provided good width for the hosts and delivered some dangerous crosses which were not converted. Going up against Bertrand enabled him to push the youngster back and spend most of his time attacking.

• 
  12

  42

  1.50

  Iván Ramis Flop of the Match

  An opening six minutes the Spanish centre-half will want to forget, he was at fault for both Chelsea goals and understandably looked shaky after that. He was left for dead by Hazard in the build-up to the opening goal and made a clumsy challenge on the Belgian four minutes later to give away a penalty. He made up for his early errors a little bit in the 63rd minute as he cleared a poked Torres chance off the line, making up good ground to slide and clear the ball away.

• 
  6

  29

  2.00

  Maynor Figueroa

  Not the greatest performance from the Honduran, it started badly as he was caught out of position in the lead up to the opening goal as he allowed Ivanovic to race away and slot the ball home after Hazard’s through ball. He improved after that but failed to provide the threat Wigan needed him to down the left.

• 
  12

  26

  2.50

  James McCarthy

  Worked his socks off in the centre of midfield with McArthur but found the flood of Chelsea forwards tough to deal with. His tackling and passing were well judged and he did everything he could to push his side forward but the final ball lacked quality.

• 
  71

  22

  2.50

  Victor Moses

  The forward has been linked with a move to Chelsea throughout the summer and he was clearly working hard to impress Roberto Di Matteo, as he put in a good shift for the Latics but his play lacked the final ball that his side required. His pace and trickery caused Ashley Cole plenty of problems but he needed to deliver better crosses for someone to get his side back in the game.

• 
  5

  32

  2.50

  James McArthur

  A tough game for the Scot as he and McCarthy tried to stop the power of the Chelsea midfield. He struggled to pick up the runs of Mata and Hazard which meant they were able to threaten the Wigan defence on a regular basis. When in possession and going forward McArthur looked solid and kept the passing neat and tidy as Wigan controlled large parts of the game. He was replaced by Watson in the 80th minute.

• 
  13

  29

  2.00

  Franco Di Santo

  The striker had a frustrating afternoon on his own up front. Chances were few and far between, however, when he did get sights of goal he fluffed his lines and failed to test Cech. He rose well to meet a Boyce cross in the 19th minute but he couldn’t get his header on target, and towards the end of the half he was found by Figueroa behind the Chelsea defence but his first touch let him down and Cech was able to smother. He was replaced by Kone in the 66th minute.

• 
  14

  22

  3.00

  Shaun Maloney

  The Scottish forward was always on the move, always looking for space and trying to thread passes into Di Santo to test Cech. He gave the Chelsea full-backs plenty to think about but his final ball occasionally lacked the accuracy required. He was replaced by Gomez in the 48th minute.

Substitutions

• 
  4

  21

  2.00

  Ben Watson

  He replaced McArthur in the 80th minute and provided some neat passing but he was unable to unlock the Chelsea defence.

• 
  17

  23

  3.00

  Jordi Gómez

  He replaced Maloney in the 48th minute and had a few chances to get his name on the scoresheet. However his 71st minute header was placed miles wide of Cech’s goal, and although he did better with his 75th minute free kick but it was straight at Cech who saved easily. He nearly fired an acrobatic effort late on but pulled it wide of Cech's post.

• 
  23

  18

  2.50

  Arouna Kone

  Much was expected of the Ivorian after scoring 15 goals in La Liga last season, and when he replaced Di Santo in the 66th minute he gave Wigan more presence up front but the lack of chances meant it was a frustrating debut for the striker. He had two chances to score but headed one effort wide and saw his second saved by Cech.

Chelsea FC

2.77

• 
  190

  5

  3.00

  Petr Cech

  The Chelsea stopper was rarely tested by the Wigan forwards but he had to be alert throughout as the hosts dominated possession, and he showed he was as he claimed crosses well and rushed out to smother the ball when it was played in behind the defence.

• 
  221

  11

  3.50

  Branislav Ivanovic

  The Serb is not a regular goalscorer for Chelsea but opened their account this season in the 2nd minute after a great through ball from Hazard, the defender made an excellent run to get away from Figueroa and showed good composure to fire past Al Habsi. Defensively he was very reliable, showing good awareness to clear danger and making well timed tackles to stop Wigan getting in on goal.

• 
  140

  29

  2.50

  Ashley Cole

  He may be one of the best left backs in the world but, for 45 minutes, Cole had a tough time against Victor Moses. The winger beat him a few times with his pace and Cole was lucky that his final ball lacked quality. He improved in the second half and had the upper hand in the battle, which eventually saw Moses switch wings.

• 
  166

  25

  2.50

  John Terry

  The Chelsea skipper was rarely tested as Wigan’s strikeforce lacked any real potency but he stuck to his job well and kept the forwards of Maloney, Moses, Di Santo and latterly Gomez quiet. He was commanding in the air and was rarely beaten by Di Santo when crosses were delivered into the penalty area.

• 
  151

  39

  2.00

  Ryan Bertrand

  The youngster was playing in more of an attacking role than he is used to and he rarely broke past the Wigan defence to deliver for Torres. He spent a lot of his time tracking back to cover the runs of Boyce and to support Cole in the battle against Moses.

• 
  169

  18

  2.50

  David Luiz

  Solid at the back alongside Terry, he hardly gave Di Santo a kick and cleared any danger that arrived in his penalty area. His tackling was a little rash at times and he was rightly booked for a poor challenge on Maloney, and his passing occasionally failed to find its man but in general he had a good game.

• 
  192

  65

  3.50

  Frank Lampard

  Playing further back in midfield than usual, Lampard had an excellent game alongside Mikel, dictating the play for the visitors and helping them wrestle control of the game in the second half. He showed he still has the ability from 12 yards in the sixth minute as he calmly fired his penalty under Al Habsi to double Chelsea’s lead.

• 
  138

  131

  2.00

  John Obi Mikel

  Worked well alongside Lampard and his second-half performance was much better, however his first half was littered with clumsy tackling and poor passing. He will need to improve his performances if he is to keep Ramires out of the side when the Brazilian recovers from his bout of sickness.

• 
  476

  41

  4.00

  Eden Hazard Top of the Match

  The Belgian settled into life in the Premier League very easily with an excellent performance that caused the Wigan defence all kinds of problems. His close control, pace and skill enabled him to find and create space whilst his passing was always accurate and showed the vision that he has. He swivelled away from Ramis beautifully in the second minute and played a perfect pass into Ivanovic who opened the scoring. Four minutes later he caused more trouble down the right hand side, nipping past Figueroa inside the penalty area before being brought down by Ramis to earn his side a penalty. He was replaced by Oscar in the 64th minute.

• 
  355

  42

  2.50

  Fernando Torres

  Looked lively and no doubt relishing the chance to be the main striker for Chelsea this season, unfortunately it didn’t improve his luck in front of goal as he rarely had the chance to test Al Habsi. He was caught offside on a couple of occasions after making poorly timed runs, but in the 63rd minute he managed to beat the keeper with a poked effort only for Ramis to clear off the line.

• 
  186

  23

  3.00

  Juan Mata

  He sat just behind Torres and looked to create chances for his compatriot as much as possible, unfortunately there were few openings he could create. He linked well with Hazard in the attacking third of the pitch and threatened the Wigan defence but he was never really in a position to test Al Habsi. Replaced by Meireles in the 82nd minute.

Substitutions

• 
  301

  11

  3.00

  Oscar

  Replaced Hazard in the 64th minute and brought fresh energy to the game playing off Torres, he was released excellently by the Spaniard moments after coming on but dragged his shot wide of Al Habsi’s right hand post.

• 
  89

  71

  2.00

  Raúl Meireles

  Replaced Mata in the 82nd minute.